Many of the towns and cities along the Monon had hotels named after the railroad. Pictured here is the Hammond edition of the Monon Hotel. The image is undated and there is no address or location where this establishment was. This hotel is listed on the 1898 Sanborn Map of Hammond. It was on Sibley Street, directly behind the Lousiville, New Albany and Chicago Railway depot. Therefore a logical case can be made for this photo being circa late 1890's early 1900's. -Thanks to Dan Seldin for the additional information-

Downtown Hammond, circa 1930. Looking south down Hohman Ave. Monon, Erie and street car tracks visible. Indiana Hotel is pictured to the right side of the image.

Indiana Hotel, circa 1940's.

NEW 02-27-2011 A Hammond landmark, the Kwi-Kee Snak. Once a Steak and Shake, this local eatery was on Douglas Street. -Kevin Heggi Collection-

Two views of the Goldblatt Store in downtown Hammond.

Hohman and Sibley street scenes, circa 1950's

Hohman Avenue street scenes, circa 1960's.

Postcard of downtown Hammond depot. Built in 1906, it was a handsome building indeed, made of stone, with many architectural details, note the ornate roof line and the ornamental lighting.

Left: Downtown Hammond depot, circa 1947. These photos were taken during the 1947 Centennial celebration of the Monon. Right: Pictured is the William Mason a 4-4-0 used by the Monon during the celebration.

Former Troop Kitchen car 201 and William Mason, downtown Hammond.

This dark day for railroad enthusiasts took place in 1954, as workmen in the photo above, complete their task of leveling the station. All that remains, is to cart off the debris, of this once splendid looking passenger depot, that proudly stood on the 400 block of Sibley Street just east of Hohman Avenue. The site now serves as a parking lot.

Fayette Street gate tower. The photographer was standing in the middle of Fayette Street. facing Northwest. The Monon main line is between the elevated gate tower and the gate. The Erie/C&O two track main line would be behind the photographer. The building with the ramp is the Hammond Times facility for unloading newsprint rolls. The siding wheel stops are in front of the door in the building. It was a two car siding. The Southeast flat side corner of the Hammond station on Sibley Street can be seen above the auto behind the small building on the east of the main. The higher dark building behind the station is the Hotel Hammond later renamed the Jefferson Hotel.

Sibley Street crossing, circa 1960. Downtown depot has already been torn down. Judging by the vehicles, good guess would be 1966 or 67.

Left: August 3, 1979. An L&N freight heading north through downtown Hammond. Right: L&N/ Family Lines local operating south on the C&WI, April 25, 1981, near 136th St. Shortly after that photo was taken, the GT connection was installed in Munster and Family Lines trains on the Monon bypassed Hammond and the C&WI mainline.. Dennis Schmidt Photos, courtsey George Elwood.

Hammond Then And Now

The pictures on the left of this page were obtained from the Hammond Public Library. They are grade crossings at various locations along the Monon in Hammond. These were taken sometime during the 1920's, however, exact dates were not available. We will start south at 173rd Street and work our way north. The images on the right are the same location, circa 2004. These images are courtesy of Kevin Heggi.

Special thanks go out to the Hammond Public Library, Kevin Ruble and Kevin Heggi for taking an afternoon and scanning all these images, or wandering out and taking current images.

Left: 173rd Street crossing 1920. Right: 173rd Street 2004.

Left: 165th Street crossing 1920. Right: 165th Street 2004.

Left: Lewis Street crossing 1920. Right: Lewis Street 2004.

Left: Kenwood Street crossing, 1920. Right: Kenwood Street 2004.

Left: Conkey Street crossing, 1920. Right: Conkey Street 2004.

Left: Detroit Street crossing, 1920. Right: Detroit Street 2004.

Left: Highland Street crossing, 1920. Right: Highland Street 2004.

Waltham Street crossing, 1920. Right: Waltham Street 2004.

Left: Douglas Street crossing, 1920. Right: Douglas Street 2004.

Leftt: Fayette Street crossing, 1920. Fayette Street 2004.

Left: Russell Street crossing, 1920. Right: Russell Street 2004.

Hammond...Now

Location of the former downtown depot, May 2002. Looking south from State Street area. Depot sat next to the building in the center of the photo. The parking lot, inside the fence was where the depot once stood. To the left is the downtown bus transfer depot.

Former downtown depot location. Left: Looking north from Sibley Street. Parking lot now sits where the former depot stood. Right: Jefferson Hotel and Denny's Deli occupy the building sitting west of the depot. Across the street there is a hardware store, which has been in the same family for 102 years. The owner, who was slightly miffed that I only asked questions and did not buy anything confirmed that yes, the parking lot was once the location of the downtown depot.

Looking north of former downtown depot site. Hohman Steet overpass in background.

Close up of the base of an old crossing watch tower. I believe it was just north of Douglas Street.

Douglas Street crossing. Looking north toward downtown Hammond. Base of crossing tower can been seen on right side of photo.

In and around Hammond.

Crossing the Calumet River north of downtown. Date of picture, unknown. This bridge replaced one originally designed as a lift bridge. Yes, at one time barge and boat traffic was contemplated on the Calumet River...Believe it or Not!

Mainline north of 165th Street, circa 1919. Oak Hill Cemetery is to the left of photo.